Tuesday, November 17, 2015

An unscheduled visit to Huntsworth Wine in Kensington led us to being introduced to one of the best wines we have found this year. Tuggy Meyer, entertaining and knowledgeable owner showed us the Cuvee"O'Byrne " from Chateau Brande Bergere and told us it was his best selling wine in the shop (which was full to the rafters with really good Bordeaux and Burgundy). We happened to be going to Bordeaux the following week, so I set up an appointment.

Situated a good half hour north of Pomerol, we drove deeper and deeper into the countryside until we came across a beautiful house surrounded by impeccably kept vineyards, some already harvested, others with plump ripe grapes waiting to be picked. It is situated on a hillside overlooking the Dronne Valley. It is a small, family-owned estate, owned and managed by the charming Denis and Edith Dalibot since 1997. The estate makes 3 wines - a very small amount of a rather delicious Rose that we will look at next year and 2 reds, both Bordeaux Superieurs.

The Cuvee Tradition is a blend of 40% Merlot, 35% abernet Franc and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon - it is aged for 18 months in cement vats. It is a gentle, well-made, classic claret - ripe, soft with great fruit character and good length and complexity. An absolute joy at this price.

The aforementioned Cuvee O'Byrne (named after an Irish priest, one of the Wine Geese!) has the same assemblage, but the best grapes go into it and it gets 18 months of oak aging. this is a full-bodied and rich wine, but with perfect balance - again a great example of how Bordeaux should be. If it had Saint Emilion on the label, a wine of this quality would be twice the price.

It is an estate whose wines regularly feature strongly in the Guide Hachette, Decanter and Jancis Robinson have both given great reviews and it was ranked Number 1 of all (however many thousand) Bordeaux and Bordeaux Superieurs by "Revue de Vins de France" for the 2013 vintage.

Friday, November 6, 2015

Hard to believe, but our 17th Wine Fair is on next Thursday, November 12th at 6pm in Fitzpatricks Killiney Castle.

We have just gone through the list and, out of about 100 wines, over 40 are new from last year. Most of our own imports are there, of course, but we have some great wines from all over the world, sourced from some of Ireland's best wine companies.

It's not only a great chance to try a huge range of amazing wines, but it is generally a good night out as well.

Monday, October 12, 2015

There are so many reasons to reduce excise duty on wine, it
is hard to narrow it down to just 10, but here goes:

Irish
politicians see wine just as money

1.Excise duty on wine is the highest in the EU,
completely off the scale at €3.19 per bottle and a bubble-bursting €6.38 per
bottle for sparkling wine. Our nearest rivals are the UK and Scandinavian
countries, but we have raced into the lead in the last two years. Think about
this – we pay 106 times more than the French while the Germans pay no duty at
all. Zero!

2.Excise duty has increased by 62% in budgets
2013/2014 – with the government now raking in an extra €150million per year
just from wine. Why has it been targeted in this way? Is it because it is a
soft target or because policy is being made by beer-swilling troglodytes who
know no culture aside from agriculture? Soft target, probably.

3.Wine is taxed more,proportionally, than other alcohol products.
Even though beer and spirits have stupidly high taxes on them, wine has been
singled out and taxed higher than everything else.

Michael
Noonan talking to wine drinkers

4.It’s tough on small businesses. Small wine shops
and independent off-licences have families whose livelihoods are dependent on
them being able to compete with supermarkets, who are able to sell wine below
cost and then overcharge you for milk or whatever to make up the difference.
Small businesses can’t do that and have to pass on wine duty increases in full.

5.It’s anti-competitive and anti-European – entry
level wine costs at least double in this country than in France or Spain. Why
should Paddy have to pay double what Pierre or Carlos pays? Why?

6.It’s anti-jobs. Wine companies in Ireland have
been shutting down or shedding jobs directly as a result of the increases in
wine duty. Conversely, imagine the boost to cross-border trade if wine was
cheaper in Dundalk than Newry?

7.Wine is both civilised and civilising – it is a
drink to be enjoyed in moderation and with food. It makes food taste better and
your friends better company.

Civilised wine shop

8.Wine is not the enemy. The sight of people drunk
in the street, fighting and clogging up A&E is obviously a menace to
society and a concern for us all. However, I don’t think these people have been
drinking a nice glass of Gevrey Chambertin or a crisp, fresh Sancerre. More
likely beer, cider, vodka, tablets, cocaine – maybe all of the above. But not
wine. It’s a mentality change we need, not more tax onwine drinkers.

9.Wine is good for you! Not in a makey-up
“Guinness is good for you” way, but actually, scientifically-proven good for
you. In moderation, of course. A glass of red a day is rich in anti-oxidants
and helps your digestive system. It’s practically medicine, except it tastes
good.

10. Just like the rest of the country, the wine trade needs a break. It's been a tough 7-8 years with many casualties along the way. Some breathing space would be nice...

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

The Natural wine movement has been gathering steam for a
number of years now, as a growing number
of winemakers are choosing to go down the natural route and many consumers are
seeking out these wines in the hope of finding a more authentic and natural
wine experience.

So, what is Natural Wine?

As with many things in the wine world, a definition that
everyone can agree on is somewhat elusive. However, most agree that for a wine
to be described as Natural with a capital N, it needs to have the following
attributes:

Minimal intervention in the cellar – no
chaptalization (adding sugar) or tinkering with acidity levels (which is often
legal, depending on local regulations)

Minimal or no filtration

Minimal or no SO2

The theory is that by intervening as little as possible with
the winemaking progress, that the wines will express fully and more accurately
where they come from and the characteristics of the grape variety. This sounds
like a worthwhile aspiration although I’m not convinced that the average
consumer is that bothered about whether a wine reflects its terroir or not –
most just want a nice glass of wine. Anyway, the idea is to get a more
authentic wine and that is probably a good thing. Fans of natural wines also
argue that, because the product is made with no chemicals it is easier on the
planet and easier on the person drinking the wine, more digestible and without
the nasty side effects (headaches etc) that some people get from drinking wine.
This could well be true, it seems to make sense, although there is little
empirical research to prove it conclusively.

Does the wine live up to its noble aspirations?

This is where it gets complicated and it is an area of
considerable controversy. There are many people in the wine trade who argue
that natural wines are riddled with faults and that, far from being an improvement,
they are actually a step backward in terms of winemaking. David Gleave, the owner of large UK importer
Liberty Wines (he knows what he is talking about) went as far as to dedicate
the introduction to last year’s wholesale list explaining why they were not
embracing natural wines. Tim Atkin, a
respected writer with vast experience (he also knows what he is talking about)
is always banging on in favour of natural wines.

In Ireland, the natural wine drum is being banged most
loudly and successfully by Pascal from Kilkenny-based importers Le Caveau and
they have probably the widest range of natural wines in the country – see www.lecaveau.ie .

What do I think?

My own focus has always been on what is in the bottle rather
that what the winemaker believes. On one hand, I think the extra care and
attention that is required in the vineyard to make this work does sometimes
result in better wine. On the other hand I have been at natural wine tastings
where maybe as much as 50% of the wines are faulty to the point where, if I
ordered them in a restaurant I would send them back, and yet the winemaker is
unwilling to admit that there is anything wrong.

So, as with anything to do with wine, there are good and bad
wines under the natural wine umbrella – I would never buy a wine just because
it is natural, but I do often seek them out because when they are good, they
are very good indeed. The good news is that tasting them to find out is good
fun.

Here are three reds
that are made using natural wine principles but are really great wines in their
own right.

Gran Cerdo Tempranillo (imported by Le Caveau) €15

Gran Cerdo means “big pig” and is

dedicated to the bankers who refused to back his winemaking vision. Unoaked tempranillo – clean, juicy, fruity and balanced. Great with ham (seriously!)

COS Cerasuolo, Sicily (imported by On the Grapevine and
Cabot &

Co) €30

Giusto Occipinti has been at the forefront of quality
Sicilian winemaking for many years now and was making natural wine before
anyone had even heard of the term. A blend of Nero d’Avola and Frappato,
this is delicious, fresh and juicy but complex and long with a perfect
balance of fruit and tannin. One of those wines where one bottle is never
enough.

Friday, July 17, 2015

I got soaked playing football last night, properly soaked, wringing water from my jersey, squelchy boots, the whole thing. So I have officially given up on summer, but I haven't given up on Rosé just yet.

Rosé comes in many different guises - we can draw a veil over the style that probably sell the most - sweetish pink wines that might even have the word "blush" on the label. I'm blushing just thinking about it.

The we have the Southern French Rosés in various guises which probably hit their peak in Provence - usually dry, pale in colour, quite delicious and easy to drink. That said, they are sometimes too delicate when they meet the food that results from your average Irish BBQ - burgers, sausages, chicken wings - not the most elegant food at the best of times, but when grilled to various levels of incineration as is usually the case, you really need a wine (or beer) that will stand up and be counted.

Spanish Rosados are usually made from Garnacha (Grenache) and are usually higher in colour, higher in alcohol and more robust.

Arzuaga, sandwiched as they are in between Pingus and Vega Sicilia are rightly renowned as being one of the leading producers of Ribera del Duero, and their wines are full on- fruit and oak are usually equally matched but nevertheless are quite extrovert in their style. On a visit earlier in the year, I was curious to try their Rosado, made from Tempranillo, not Grenache.

This is a full-on Rosé, light in colour, but medium bodied and with loads of lovely summer fruits, concentrated enough to take on pretty much any food you care to throw its way. The elegant bottle, printed to avoid the label coming off in the ice bucket, might make you think this is a gentle, feminine wine, but don't be fooled, this is a Rosé with cojones!

(It's also an excellent hangover cure, as I discovered after a night of over-indulgence in Arzuaga's amazing hotel the previous night!)

Wednesday, April 22, 2015

The above is a very nice Montepulciano d'Abruzzo from a producer called Zaccagnini - it is a wine that we have carried pretty much since we started up - it is a very pleasant, juicy mid-priced Montepulciano, fair value for its price which used to be sub €15, now you will find it in many independents priced around €17-18 after the duty increases in recent budgets. We call it "Twiggy" because of the little stick tied on to the front.

Still, at €17.95 I think it represents reasonable value for money.

Then I see it in Supervalu on promotion at €15 - I don't particularly mind this as we occasionally get undercut by retailers with bigger purchasing power than us and we try to respond as best we can if this happens. However, what surprised me was that it was on promotion as reduced from €23 down to €15!

This is a wine which was never €23 and for Supervalu to try and portray this as a 35% discount when it is clearly a (max) 16% discount is, in my view a blatant attempt to swindle consumers.

This is an issue which I think should be tackled with more vigour by our wine writers but perhaps they shy away from it given that the main culprits also happen to be major newspaper advertisers....

There is a consumer story here that, if it was on bread or milk, would be a major scandal, but wine apparently is fair game for this kind of malpractice.

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Due to popular demand, we will be back open till 8.30pm now on Thursdays (as well as Friday & Saturday) - our €5 corkage deal is now available EVERY DAY!

Next Wine Event

A date for you Diary - Friday, March 6th - we will have our friends from Villa Locatelli / Angoris in beautiful Friuli over early March and we will be hosting a wine dinner in Fitzpatricks Killiney Castle on the date at 7.30pm - we will have a sparkling wine reception and the taste 4 wines with a matching menu from the team in Fitzpatricks - all for €45. Book your place with Carol as usual on 01 2353054 and we will have more info closer to the time.

Wine Deal for the next few weeks

Also from Friuli, Pradio are lovely wines and we have their Sauvignon Blanc and Refosco on a 2 for €30 deal at the moment - a saving of €3 per bottle. They will be open over the weekend if you want to try them.

Friday, January 23, 2015

Ok, January is nearly over so we feel in need of a decent Wine Dinner and where better to start than with 2 of our favourite places - Bordeaux and Beaufield Mews.

We have Lionel Latorse from Vignobles Latorse coming over to guide us through a range of wines from AC Bordeaux Sec through to Saint Emilion Grand Cru and we will match it with some classic dishes in the warm and elegant surrounds of Beaufield Mews.

It all kicks off on Friday, February 6th at 7.30pm with a drinks reception and will follow with a delicious 3 course dinner with wines to match.

Monday, January 19, 2015

After hearing about Leo Varadkar coming out on the radio yesterday (I think we all knew didn't we?....good-looking man, no sign of a girlfriend etc etc...) I had a look on his twitterfeed to see he was proudly proclaiming that he is "on the dry" for January as part of the campaign by the Irish Heart Foundation.

I know they mean well and I believe the Irish Heart Foundation do great work (I have a family history that makes me think I might need their support at some stage). I also know that Minister Varadkar has to come out and support these initiatives, but I think it misses the point on a few fronts.

Firstly, what we should all aspire to is a sensible and healthy approach to alcohol in our society. Binging at Christmas and fasting in January is neither healthy nor sensible - it is the alcohol equivalent of yo-yo dieting. It will do nothing except reinforce bad habits. Whatever happened to moderation?

Secondly, giving up wine at any time of year is clearly a bad idea as the health benefits of wine consumption in moderation are well documented at this stage, but January is a particularly bad month to try and give up. It is a month when you need warmth and comfort - big casseroles and a glass of red by the fire. It is too cold and miserable to even contemplate water with your dinner.

Lastly, January is grim enough for us wine merchants with those ridiculous new years resolutions without having some officially sanctioned campaign to give it up altogether! Drink less, but drink better - that's what I say - all year round!